Short-lived Frolic of the Olympics

by Dhruv Mishra

 

The Olympic games have been a hallmark of world class sportsmanship, athletic excellence and a feat of the human body and mind. The 2020 Tokyo Olympic games are special because firstly, they are taking place in the year 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and secondly, India has won an Olympic medal in hockey after 41 years. Everyone celebrates, shares news when our athletes win, but who understands their sacrifices, challenges and try to create a better environment for our country’s sports persons?

Every athlete in the country aims to be the best, represent our land wearing the tricolors on the international stage. 23-year-old wrestler Ravi Dahiya, having won the silver at the 2021 games in his Olympic debut, has been promised a cash award, a job and a piece of land. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar praised Dahiya for his effort after he became only the second Indian wrestler to win a silver medal at the Olympics. Dahiya, who hails from Nahri village in Sonipat, lost the men’s freestyle 57kg title clash 4-7 to reigning world champion Zavur Uguev. “Our wrestler Ravi Dahiya put up a great performance in a keenly contested bout. I congratulate him for winning a silver medal,” Khattar said.

He will get Rs 4 crore award money as per state government’s policy for silver winning Olympic medalists, he said.

 

The Indian hockey players from Punjab would be getting a cash award of Rs 1 Crore each as announced by Punjab’s sports minister, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi. Congratulating the men’s hockey team for winning bronze medal, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur announced to give Rs 1 crore from the SGPC to the hockey team. She also announced Rs 5 lakh each to the Punjab players who participated in the individual games in the Olympics.

 

All of these athletes have put in years of training, hard work, sacrificing times with their families, financial struggles, health problems, lack of proper sports infrastructure are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the problems faced by our nation’s athletes. For India’s athletes, winning a medal is more than an achievement in sports, it is what brings them land, job, money to be able to sustain their family in a country where no infrastructure is in place for retired athletes.

 

Almost all of our country is dazzled by the thrill of cricket, investing hundreds of crores on organizing games, advertisements, marketing, promotion, a fraction of which would really help in building a better environment for sports persons. India should aim to improve in this regard by 2024 games.